Music

Carlos Santana looks like a man ready to rock out ... he's smiling and looking good after his scary collapse on stage ... and is continuing his tour.

We got the legendary guitarist at the Four Seasons in Downtown NYC ahead of his Friday show in Connecticut ... and he was moving around perfectly fine, showing no lasting effects from his recent medical episode.

It's pretty funny ... when our photog told him how good he looked, he brushed off the compliment by saying it was "a reflection of your light!"

Remember ... Santana was performing July 5 in Michigan when he went down, sending staffers and stage hands scurrying to his side.

The 75-year-old was rushed to a hospital for treatment, with his team saying he was suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration.

The health scare forced Santana to hit pause on his Miraculous Supernatural 2022 Tour, postponing 6 shows, but now he's back on the road.

Ex-NFL star Prince Amukamara and the Players Choir are ready to be the newest members of NSYNC -- 'cause the footballer-turned-singer says his guys are ready to collab after the pop star approved their rendition of his song on "America's Got Talent!"

If you missed it, the Players Choir -- a group of 11 former NFL athletes including Amukamara, Isaiah McKenzie, and Bryant McKinnie -- performed Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop The Feeling!" on 'AGT' earlier this week ... and they killed it!

Timberlake was very impressed, sharing the clip of their gig on his Twitter with praising hand emojis ... and, Amukamara says they were hyped about the nod.

"Anytime you do another artist's song, you want to make sure that you make them proud first and foremost," the former Giants cornerback tells us this week.

"Getting that stamp of approval from Justin was huge!"

Does this open doors for a collab with the award-winning singer? If it does, Amukamara tells us the squad is down for it.

"Of course!" Amukamara said, "No one is gonna decline that!"

"It was just even awesome for him to retweet us and show us some love. If that opportunity comes, we're all gonna be jumping up and down for that."

Until then, PC -- who made their debut in 2008 -- will continue to sing on stage with more to come soon.

"Being on stage was awesome," Amukamara said, "and if we get another opportunity which I'm sure we will and we have been."

"Stuff's coming up so it's awesome."

Kodak Black says the Florida cops who arrested him for allegedly trafficking oxycodone are still holding onto his car and thousands of dollars in cash nearly a month later ... and now he's out of patience and wants it all back.

Kodak is asking the court to make the Florida Highway Patrol officers who busted him return a Dodge Durango and $74,960 in cash they seized during the arrest ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Kodak's lawyer, Bradford Cohen, says his client can prove the car and cash belong to Kodak and were not involved in any illegal activity.

For starters, Cohen claims the Durango is registered to Florida-based record label Sniper Gang, and Kodak is a manager of that entity.

Since Kodak has already turned over the prescriptions for the pills found in the vehicle, Cohen claims there is no legal basis for the police to continue to hold the Durango and should return it pronto.

As for the roughly $75K in cash, Kodak's attorney says he carries so much dough around because he's a rapper and it goes with the territory ... claiming Kodak needs large sums of money on him to pay various expenses on tour. Also, he's often paid in cash for his gigs.

Remember ... cops pulled Kodak's car over last month and say the ride reeked of weed, prompting a search that turned up the cash and 31 oxycodone pills ... this according to cops.

Kodak's attorney claims he ended up providing cops with a prescription for the pills ... and insists there's no basis for cops to continue holding the car and cash as evidence.

The court has yet to rule.

Travis Scott, Cardi B and countless others have already hyped up GloRilla's breakout hit, solidifying her entry into the game ... and pumping her wayyy up.

We caught up with Glo in Hollywood earlier this week to talk about the massive success of her single "F.N.F. (Let's Go)" which has been positioned on the Billboard Hot 100 all summer and also dubbed the song of the summer by Cardi B.

Glo praised Cardi for the "realness" of her advice once she struck it big ... especially since she went out of her way to talk about a smaller artist.

The Memphis rap starlet has been a frontrunner for rap's rookie of the year, signing to Yo Gotti's CMG label and going equally viral for the $500K advance he blessed her with.

Glo tells us she not only hasn't spent a dime of the advance but also plans to use it as a deeper investment. She says she's also down to recruit Cardi, Travis (or both) for any potential 'F.N.F.' remix ... but isn't forcing anything.

Next month, she's performing at Jay-Z's Made In America Festival and her debut album is in the making.

It seems Tommy Lee has inspired rockers of old to get risqué with their personal pics -- and Ringo Starr's stepping up to the plate next ... barefoot, mind you.

The former Beatles member took to Twitter Saturday with a shot for the ages ... one that got a bit of a mixed reaction online. Frankly, some were grossed about by it -- but RS didn't seem to mind. It was a photo of his naked ass feet, toes exposed and all in some sandals.

He writes, "YES peace and love," accompanied by a bunch of emojis. It wasn't just a footsie photo he was going for here -- Ringo was trying to plug the release of 'Get Back' on Blu-ray.

Ringo's always been sort of a hippy at heart, so you could argue this free-spirited post is right up his alley. But for the conspiracy theorists out there -- this might also be in response to what the Motley Crue drummer threw up this week ... aka, a full-frontal nude on IG.

TL showed off his legendary penis, reminding the new generation that he's still that dude -- even if they've never heard of him. At least that seems to have been the motive ... maybe.

Taylor Swift may be making a run at an EGOT, because she's apparently gunning for an Oscar during this award season ... all over her short film, which qualifies.

The singer's 14-minute video treatment -- which is part music video and film, starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien -- is eligible to be nominated for an Academy Award at the 95th annual ceremony next year ... in the Best Live Action Short, no less, according to THR.

The outlet reports TayTay and co. are actually consulting with a firm to guide the awards campaign -- so yeah, it seems she/the team behind the film do, in fact, want it considered.

There's more though ... THR says the short film might've actually been up for Best Picture, technically, had it come out in 2022 -- but because it was released in late 2021, it misses that window ... although, Best Short is still in play. 'ATW' was screened in an AMC theater in Lincoln Square for a week straight last year, and because of that ... it can get a nod.

Taylor may also be in the running for another Oscar nomination, potentially, because of an original song she did for 'Where the Crawdads Sing' -- but time will tell if it makes it in.

Still, it's just the latest signal that TS is pivoting toward movies. Remember, she did a whole Q&A at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year to talk about 'All Too Well' ... and she's also starring in some serious flicks that are in the works -- stuff where her chops will be tested.

R. Kelly was once prosecuted for allegedly abusing a minor -- an infamous case from 2008 in which she never testified ... but that's all about to change now as he heads to trial anew.

The disgraced singer, who's already been convicted of sex crimes in New York and faces 30 years behind bars, has another day in court ahead of him. Come Monday, his federal trial in Chicago -- for which he's facing similar charges and sentencing -- is going to begin.

On top of the 4 accusers in this Chicago case -- all of whom will testify -- the woman who Kelly was accused of urinating on on tape at just age 14, among other heinous crimes, is set to take the stand as well ... to speak on the '08 case and her experience with him in general.

Per new court filings, cited by AP, prosecutors say the unidentified alleged victim from back then -- now in her 30s -- will address claims that R. Kelly rigged the 2008 case in an attempt to obstruct justice ... including allegedly paying off/threatening this woman at the time.

Many will recall ... Kelly was acquitted and went free, largely because the alleged victim refused to cooperate and testify. Now, it appears she'll explain why that happened, from her perspective, for the first time ever. Her identity has remained hidden all these years.

There's more ... these new filings say prosecutors plan to play that same VHS tape from '08 in court again as this current trial fires up. In addition to that, there are reportedly going to be at least 3 other videos presented as evidence in court. Unclear if they all pertain to 2008.

Prosecutors claim that R. Kelly had sex with/recorded the 2008 alleged victim hundreds of times between 1998 and 2000, a period when she was as young as 13 years old. They also acknowledge that some of these sex tapes had been stolen and peddled on the street.

Ben Affleck has a tendency to turn himself into hilarious memes -- and as he jets off with Jennifer Lopez and their kids to celebrate his birthday ... he seems to be reprising a classic.

The newlyweds boarded a private plane Saturday at the Van Nuys Airport in L.A. with some of their kids in tow, it seems. We recognize two of BA's children here, but it's unclear if Jen's young ones are already inside or even there at all. In any case, this trip is a family affair.

No word on where they'll ring in the big 5-0 for Ben -- his actual born day is on Monday -- but we're sure we'll find out soon enough. In the meantime ... what's with the long face???

Take a gander at Ben here ... who, in a majority of these shots, appears quite stern in his demeanor -- if not just outright bummed. Of course, him looking sorta sad here doesn't necessarily mean he's not excited for the festivities -- he probably is -- but it's funny to see this is how he looked just as he was getting ready to take in a huge milestone of life.

J Lo herself wasn't looking all that peppy either ... just matter-of-factly getting their crap from the car and making sure everyone/everything made its way up the steps on time.

Granted, these moments are the not-so-fun part of travel ... all the lugging and boarding and checking to see that all is in order before a major vacay, so that could be what's going on here. Still, though ... with Ben's history of appearing downtrodden, it's noteworthy.

There's the famous 'Batman v Superman' interview where he's stares off into space with a depressed gaze. Plus, his infamous bare-back beach stare-out ... and, of course, his eyes-closed cig moment from back then. The dude seems to channel gloom and doom a bit.

The L.A. Mission thinks Kanye West needs to turn his words into action, and the org. is frustrated he hasn't followed through on his vow to help the homeless get jobs and housing ... folks familiar with the Mission's struggles tell TMZ.

Kanye got all inspirational Friday, posting this on IG ...  "look to the homeless as the biggest inspiration for all design." It's unclear what he meant, but it resurfaces some of the promises the rapper made last year, when he visited the Mission and vowed to use his companies to help the homeless get jobs, education and housing.

Our sources say little if anything has been done since.

Kanye waxing philosophical isn't moving the ball forward for the homeless crisis in L.A.

As we reported, Kanye met with leaders of the org. last November, where he laid out ambitious plans on how to tackle City's biggest challenge -- the homeless crisis. We're told folks from the Mission have attempted to contact Ye several times since the meeting, to no avail.

Kanye has done some good for the homeless ... among other things, he donated 1,000 meals and spent time encouraging volunteers and L.A. residents to join in and help. He also held a Sunday Service at the Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row back in 2019.

We're told the L.A. Mission wants to work with Kanye, because he's a huge star with a megaphone and could do a lot of good.

Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz and Meek Mill were high rollers Friday night in NYC's Rockefeller Center ... and it looked like a blast!

The "Girl on Fire" singer threw an awesome party for close friends and family, celebrating the release of "KEYS II" ... a deluxe edition of her double album "KEYS."

Alicia and Swizz showed off their rink skills, dancing and holding each other, taking smiling selfies and even smooching as they rolled along.

Alicia also got jiggy by herself ... busting moves just like back in the 70s!

And, then there was Meek ... he was having fun with a young woman, circling the rink as they held hands.

The Philly rapper was also cutting it up with Busta Rhymes off to the side. Guess Busta wasn't in the skating mood.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield and his wife of more than two decades are no more, TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the former couple tell us James filed divorce docs against Francesca Hetfield in Colorado earlier this year. Surprisingly, the filing was never reported, and the couple kept it out of the spotlight.

We're told the two are still in touch, as they have kids together.

James and Francesca met in 1992, and got hitched in 1997. They have two daughters and a son together. James credited Francesca over the years for helping him through tough times, including his anger management issues.

In one interview, James said Francesca once threatened to take the kids out of the house if he couldn't get his temper in check.

Francesca was Hetfield's first marriage ... she'd also join him on tour at times, visiting spots around the world.

Wiz Khalifa almost has his Los Angeles mansion off his hands, with an interested buyer about to pull the trigger.

Wiz is selling his Encino home for $4.45M, which turns out to be about $1M more than what he paid for it back in 2019, so it's a nice little profit.

The mansion is a modern beauty, with 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling glass doors, a home movie theater, a pool and a spa. Oh, and a waterfall to boot.

TMZ broke the story ... Wiz isn't moving too far away from his old crib, he'll be living it up, just a few miles down the street in a newly built $7.6 mil mansion.

Wiz's new mansion comes with a guesthouse and a gym.

There may be just as many eyes on the crowd as on the ring when Teofimo Lopez steps into the squared circle this weekend, 'cause the former unified champ tells us some of the biggest stars in the world are attending his fight.

"I've been contacting everybody to let everyone know honestly we're gonna have Odell Beckham Jr. at the fight, we're gonna have Akon, Lil Wayne, I've been contacting everyone tryna have everyone come and support," 25-year-old Lopez tells TMZ Sports.

"It's all love and support at the end of the day and that's the type of man I am. I wanna let people know, I wanna show that I am that type of fighter, I am that guy. I'm the man of the hour, the man with the power, the man too sweet to be sour."

Lopez, who beat pound-for-pound king Vasyl Lomachenko in October 2020, snatching his three belts, lost to George Kambosos Jr. in November 2021. It was the first loss of his career.

It'll be the first time Lopez has been back in a ring for a sanctioned fight following the loss ... and his opponent, Pedro Campa, is tough. The 30-year-old fighter has a 34-1-1 record with 23 knockouts.

Despite a tough challenger, Teofimo says he made changes to his team following the L, and he's ready to go.

"We had to cut a lot of people and bring some new people in just so we can what's the different environment that I need. My team now, it feels so more as a team, as a unit, as it should be," Lopez says.

And, Teo feels awesome.

"I'm feeling the greatest right now. What else can I say? Preparation went really well, push myself to the limits, man, to greater heights, and just seeing how much I can really handle. I think that overall it's been amazing."

In addition to the stars that'll be in the building, Oscar De La Hoya will also be in the building. But, this is a business trip for the legendary boxer. His fighter, Ryan Garcia, is a possible opponent for Lopez.

That's why Teofimo says he extended an invite to The Golden Boy.

"I actually invited Oscar De La Hoya a couple weeks before he decided to make that announcement so it's been on his mind," Lopez said, referencing ODLH telling the media he was going to scout TL.

But, Lopez isn't convinced Ryan actually wants to fight.

"If you're gonna call me out, better keep that same energy 'cause after Saturday night, I don't want them to make some excuse. If you're gonna talk about it, be about it. I've seen Ryan Garcia call out so many fighters and yet, has fought one of them. I don't believe anything until it's on contract and it's on paper."

Megan Thee Stallion has finally responded to Dwyane Johnson’s animalistic desires … rather mildly we might add … probably because she has a boyfriend who’s watching things really closely.

Meg was a guest on SiriusXM to promote her new — and controversial — “Traumazine” album when she reacted to The Rock wishing to be her “pet” as promoting his “DC League of Super-Pets” film with Kevin Hart.

An overly astonished Meg appeared to hear the Rock’s statements for the first time … which is kinda crazy, considering her boyfriend Pardison Fountaine nearly had a cow over the comment earlier in the week.

Meg said the moment solidified her celebrity but didn’t take the megastar actor up on his offer all the same.

In a comment-and-delete scenario on Instagram, Pardison admitted his joke about The Rock’s wife using food seasoning didn’t land the way he hoped and offered up an explanation.

The “Traumazine” drama didn’t end there, however. Ahead of the album’s release, Megan’s now former label head Carl Crawford aired out her manager T. Farris to close the curtain on their relationship with a bang.

Naomie Ackie looks like she's enjoying the hell out of playing Whitney Houston for an upcoming biopic on the late singer ... tooling around town in a sportscar during filming.

The British actress couldn't hold back a huge grin as she shot some scenes Thursday in Los Angeles, riding shotgun in a Porsche and eating french fries. Honestly, it sounds hard to do without smiling.

Whitney's fashion sense looks like it will be on full display in "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" ... Naomie's wardrobe is straight out of the late 80s and early 90s ... those animal print shorts sure are something else.

We gotta say, Naomi looks a lot like Whitney ... she's definitely got the singer's trademark hair down.

Naomi's been shooting a bunch of scenes in L.A. this week, with filming locations also taking her down to the marina to film on a boat.

R. Kelly's fiancée, and the woman the world believed was his victim, Joycelyn Savage, just dropped a bomb ... claiming to be pregnant with the singer's baby.

Joycelyn reveals in her upcoming book she's several months pregnant, learning she was expecting after the disgraced artist sent her an engagement ring. She says Kelly is "extremely excited about the news," but wishes he could be there for the birth of their kid.

The big hole, obviously, is she never explains how the child was conceived -- R. Kelly has been locked up for over a year.

A lawyer for Joycelyn's parents tells TMZ they're still processing the news, but aren't willing to make a comment at this time.

As we reported, Joycelyn revealed the two were engaged through a letter sent to the judge ahead of his sentencing, asking for him to get a lenient sentence while claiming, "I'm not the victim that the government has portrayed me to be."

In her book, she refers to Azriel Clary, one of Kelly's other live-in GF's as "the other girl" ... saying she became bipolar and eventually "smeared my name all over social media" after returning to her family.

As you know, Azriel wanted out of the situation and tried getting Joycelyn to leave, too ... resulting in them landing blows on each other back in 2020.